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Project Runway Recap: S13 E04

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s SUPER-VAGINA!

Previously: The designers’ visions of the future left us praying that time stands still.

The Challenge: The contestants are whisked off to Red Robin, where a gaggle of male models are wearing suits from different eras and holding fast food and cocktails. The designers will each be assigned a different suit to use as inspiration and primary materials. They have one day to create a high-fashion womenswear look with the mens’ jacket and pants as a prominent part of their design. Can anyone explain to me what this challenge actually has to do with Red Robin? No? Okay then. And was there a reason Sandhya got to choose everyone’s suit for them, other than to make the other designers hate her even more than they already do? Also no? Great. Glad we’re all on the same page.

Most of the suits aren’t too bad to work with, but of course, there’s two or three in weird, difficult materials. Wouldn’t this be a better competition if they all had to work with corduroy or leisure suits? It just seems unfair, not to mention tailor-made to cause interpersonal drama instead of interesting fashion. And the rule about the menswear pieces being “prominently displayed” in the final design was completely thrown out the window so that the judges could award Amanda yet another undeserved win. Why bother making restrictions on the challenge if you’re not even going to enforce them? Sigh. At least Nina said the word “vagina” a few times. That was fun.

Guest Judge: Bethany Mota, who is apparently a fashion vlogger? Come on, show, bring on a guest judge who has more to say than “I love this! It’s FIERCE!” Or, if you’re going to choose a random-ass fashion blogger, CHOOSE ME. I’m short and vaguely annoying just like Bethany, except I have a more extensive vocabulary.

ALEXANDER KNOXTop 3

Photos: Lifetime

Cute and chic, and it looks like something Emmy Rossum or Lily Collins would wear on the red carpet. Not the most innovative or original thing on earth, but the crop top is on trend and the skirt is very pretty. It wasn’t really good enough for the top three, but of course the judges wanted to have a bottom-to-top story for him. He used the word “redemption” twice this episode – that was a little heavy-handed even for Project Runway. They’re not even trying anymore.

AMANDA VALENTINEWinner

Photos: Lifetime

This looked way better on the runway than it did approximately ten minutes earlier in the workroom, but it is a bag of bullshit that Amanda snagged the win AGAIN. How many half-dresses covered in fringe are they going to hand her the win for? I agree with the judges that the way the fringe was crossed and layered in the front was interesting, but the fringe in the back was a mess. I’m shocked the model wasn’t tripping all over it. This was a perfectly fine if slightly craftsy dress that belonged nowhere near the top three.

More importantly, I don’t think this completely met the requirements of the challenge. That reddish printed fabric is the suit jacket, and she covered up almost all of it. That was smart from a design perspective, because it wasn’t a very modern print, but I don’t think this was a “prominent” use of the original suit by any stretch of the imagination. Of course, when the judges want to justify their decision to bring back one of the least memorable designers in the show’s history, they have to give her the win for every average hippie-dippy dress she sends down the runway. Giving two different designers two wins in the first four episodes of the season is INSANE. We’ve barely learned the names of half the other designers, while Amanda and Sandhya never seem to leave our screens. It’s exhausting.

CHAR GLOVER

Photos: Lifetime

The slit in that skirt is way too short, and the bottom of this look generally lacked creativity. But I like the sculptured top and the surprising backless effect. I’d love to see Char get some recognition for her skills, but this wasn’t one of her better looks. I’m hoping she’ll be back on her game next week.

EMILY PAYNE

Photos: Lifetime

I’m still not really sure what this is. I definitely like the back of the tartan girdle-skirt-pants hybrid, because the buttons and pockets are adorable. But that shrug top looks very awkward from the back, and that folded-over velvet portion of the bottom is also extremely confusing. I think Emily just tried to do a few too many things in this outfit, and suffered for it. I probably would have put her in the top three if she had streamlined this to something a little more understandable.

FÄDE ZU GRAU

Photos: Lifetime

The fabrics look a little bit dreary in pictures, but this was one of my favorite things on the runway. I think Fäde was one of the only designers who really understood and followed the challenge. He mixed prints and fabrics like a power-clashing champ, but the result was deceptively simple. The draping of that sort of poncho-esque crop top is brilliant, the sleeves are cool, and his model looked stylish and powerful. Definitely worthy of my top three.

HERNAN LANDEREliminated

Photos: Lifetime

Hernan did not stop bitching and moaning from the first moment of the episode that he couldn’t get inspired by his hideous suit. Come on, buddy. It’s fabric. It’s not even the worst fabric of the group. Consider yourself lucky that you don’t have to make a dress out of potatoes. He kvetched about Sandhya picking on him, and how she’s different off-camera, and she’s threatened by him, and all of this just made him seem like a big baby. He also called her a bitch during the runway show – he might have meant it as a joke, but it didn’t sound like one, and Sandhya hissed, “Don’t ever speak to me like that again.” Drama like this is boring to me, but respect to Sandhya for standing up for herself, because Hernan was completely out of line. (If that’s even what happened. The editing here was a little bit suspicious.)

Maybe if Hernan had spent a bit less time blaming Sandhya for his problems, he would have had time to make an actual garment. Tim told him early on that the vinyl was not even remotely working because Hernan was trying to drape it like fabric, which it is not. But Hernan never did anything about this completely glaring problem, and barely got this thing on the model in time for the runway show. His dress was so full of pins, his model was BLEEDING PROFUSELY from it, and he had to cut the hem with a pair of scissors at the last moment. THEN he straight-up lied to the judges about how his positively ancient fabric was literally falling apart when he tried to touch it. Did he really think he was going to get away with that bullshit? Did he really not know that the judges actually inspect the garments up-close? Even if this dress hadn’t been awful – and it was – he should have gone home just for that stupidity.

Nina thought the giant V on the dress made the model look like a “vagina superhero,” which was a hilarious comment, but I disagree. A vagina superhero sounds AWESOME, and this dress was anything but awesome.

KINI ZAMORA Top 3

Photos: Lifetime

Kini finished his look hours early and spent the rest of the episode lounging around and making everyone hate him for having so much extra time. I am blown away by his construction and his speed – this is absolutely impeccably tailored. But I won’t pretend this is even remotely original. It’s Cushnie et Ochs-meets-David Koma, with a sprinkle of McQueen. There’s not an original thought to be found here. But it was sexy, chic, appropriate for the challenge, and stupendously crafted. That was enough to earn it a spot in my top three.

KORINA EMMERICH

Photos: Lifetime

Jessa was insufferable this episode, whining about how she and Kristine were both making motorcycle jackets, but not doing anything to actually differentiate hers from Kristine’s. This looks dated, unoriginal, and not particularly well-fit. But there were more noticeable disasters on the runway, so she lives to see another day.

KRISTINE GUICOBottom 3

Photos: Lifetime

Yes, the velour pants look terrible, but Kristine got a shitty fabric and actually tried to make the most of it instead of bitching about how terrible it was. She didn’t try to hide the fabric beneath twenty pounds of fringe, and I think that was brave. Of course, those pants are hideously unflattering, and the organza at the bottom doesn’t make any sense, but at least the girl made an attempt at originality and tried to fit the constraints of the challenge.

MITCHELL PERRY

Photos: Lifetime

Mitchell’s response to his leisure suit was “HAAATE IT, HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT,” and I admit, I almost laughed. He actually did get one of the two worst suits to work with, so I understand his frustration a bit more than Hernan’s, but everyone was being such a brat about their IMPOSSIBLE TO WORK WITH suits instead of just hunkering down and making it work.

Alexander mentioned that Mitchell’s dressed looked like he shoved his leisure suit into a Ziplock bag, and he was not wrong. It looks awful, and the bubbly-ness on the sides is making me cringe. I haven’t seen anything from Mitchell so far that actually convinces me he has good taste. Nina’s going to bite him in the ass for that soon.

SAMANTHA PLASENCIA

Photos: Lifetime

From afar, this is just a good look, but up-close, this was by far my favorite thing on the runway. Samantha desperately needs to learn that all-black detailing does not pop enough on television, but the detailing on this was extraordinary. The pleating, the pockets, the safety pins, the asymmetry – it’s interesting and innovative and all-around badass. I can’t believe we had to sit through a discussion of what a genius Amanda is when Samantha still hasn’t gotten her moment in the spotlight.

SANDHYA GARG

Photos: Lifetime

The front of the top is funky, trendy, and wearable. Even the mustache printed on it is kind of hipster-chic. But the mustaches in back, which look like they’re silk-screened onto giant black band-aids, are way too much. And this skirt looks like a crafts project gone wrong. Sandhya’s look stood out from the crowd because it was colorful, but she was also the only designer who had bright colors in the suit she was working from. Because she was the only one who got to choose her suit. So she doesn’t get extra points for her use of color when no one else even had the opportunity to do the same.

SEAN KELLYBottom 3

Photos: Lifetime

This was terrible. Sean was the sole designer working with corduroy, which handicapped him a bit, but still, this was a nightmare. When the judges called him out on how shabby this looked, he explained that it was intentional. Their responding, “NO SHIT, WE WEREN’T BORN YESTERDAY” was kind of hilarious. Yes, Sean, darling, we know you made this deconstructed on purpose. IT STILL LOOKS LIKE SHIT. The horizontal strips of fabric don’t go all the way around the skirt – they’re tacked together on the sides by some extra vertical stripes, making it look like he made this skirt three sizes too small and it was too late to start over again.He should thank his lucky stars that Hernan got caught lying to the judges, otherwise Sean’s awful look paired with his back-talk to the judges would have sent him home for sure.

11 responses to Project Runway Recap: S13 E04

I think Hernan would have been out anyway…three times clearly in the bottom is usually an auf, no matter how much drama a designer promises. In any case, he behaviour was as trashy as his design. The ironic thing is that he got an easy colour, but for some reason (because the suit did it too?) he paired it with this ugly brown. If he had picked gold and made a better bottom (something elegant), he could have been a contender for the top.

I would have given the win to Fäde, and I am really frustrated at this point that he keeps getting overlooked. Four times he dished something out that could have easily won, and he wasn’t even in the top once. Considering how much his pretentious name annoyed me in the beginning, he really grew on me. It’s perhaps a very stupid stereotype, but he is very “German”, meaning he is not the type who wastes his time in the workroom but concentrates on making it work. And this deceptively simple dress must have been a lot of work, with all the pattern mixing he did. I know I originally predicted an all-female finale, but now I hope that he will be in it. And I guess Sandhya already punched her ticked, though I doubt that she will win (I still can’t see her putting together a cohesive collection which doesn’t look like it’s straight from a crafts shop).

Samantha…nope. Yes, all the detailing she does is great, but that doesn’t matter if you can’t see it. The only thing I see, unless I look really close, is a forgettable black dress.

Mitchell….honestly, it’s kind of fun to watch him (yes, he bitched about the material, but he didn’t accuse Sandhya of anything and then went and did his very best with the material he was given). He naturally will wash out with his tacky style, but that he managed to turn this material into that is kind of impressive.

I had Char as strong contender for the bottom. This just looked slutty, and the bow on the skirt…just no! She is also kind of repeating herself. She really has to step it up.

But the one who I am sure won’t make it to the final is Korina. She thinks way too much of her run-of-the-mill designs. She will stay safe for a while, but eventually the real messes will be gone, and then her time to go will come.

I definitely have similar feelings about Fäde. I’m afraid they’ll eliminate him before they ever recognize that he’s one of the best designers in the group. I hated the silly name too, but I’ve been coming around to him all season.

And I am already sick of Korina. You’re right – her safe, ordinary looks have only kept her in this far because there’s still a lot of designers in the group. But she can’t get away with talking a big game and not backing it up forever. (I hope.)

I REALLY don’t like Amanda. And her dress this time around is much like Sue’s in 1204. I love Fäde’s dress and also Kini’s. Jessa is unbearable as always (what’s her real name?).

I’m not actually sure I like Sandhya’s garments, but she has been portrayed as a victim from the very start. Everyone has been belittling her work since episode 1, and that just makes me support her, which is silly, since I don’t like most of her garments.

I’m already so tired of Amanda and we’re only four episodes in. Jessa’s real name is Korina, but I’m absolutely never calling her anything but Jessa. Oops.

That’s the funny thing about Sandhya. The producers seem to be actively trying to get the rest of the designers to hate her. (Why else would she have gotten to choose all their suits for this episode, instead of resorting to our old friend the button bag?) So even for a lot of people who don’t like her designers, their instinct is to be on her side just because everyone else seems to be kind of a brat about/to her.

I truly believe Sandhya tried to play to what she perceived as each designer’s strengths and style when she assigned the suits. If she really was looking for revenge on Hernan, she’d have given him the mustard-color corduroy, and I think she gave the cord to Sean because she overestimated his abilities. As for Mitchell, I believe Sandhya saw the denim look as fitting in with his Florida all casual, all the time aesthetic and wasn’t trying to undermine him either.

And all Hernan did was reinforce his shortcomings as a designer, from his failure to recognize that he had one of the more workable fabrics to his insane choice of vinyl at Mood. Nothing eliminated Hernan more than Hernan himself, and Sandhya can’t be blamed for the disaster he created.

And I’m also in the “Fäde was robbed” camp. His dress was a definite top three and would have been my pick for the win.

I think you’re right about Sandhya. Somebody had to get some of the shittier suits in the bunch, but Hernan’s was not nearly as bad to work with as Mitchell’s, Sean’s, and maybe even Amanda’s. If she wanted to punish him, she would have given him a way worse suit to work with than that one. As you said, Hernan lost because of Hernan and no one else.

The “Fäde was robbed” camp is a very popular camp this week! Hopefully that means he’s due for some actual camera time soon.

I completely forgot – I actually liked Emilys uhm…bottom garment very much. I was kind of surprised when she exclaimed happily about the tartan thing, but I think she played to its strengths. Hernan… what a brat he was being about it. He could’ve easily made something beautiful from that suit. Well – I guess a good designer could have.

I hated Jessa’s jacket, it looked so cheap. I don’t know if it was leather, but in the pics it looks like pleather. The way the velour jacket was supposed to look (but didn’t), was much better. Although the pants were horrible.

When Hernan called her a bitch during the runway…she gave him the finger before she told him to never talk to her like that again…so in my eyes by doing that she is acting just as bad as Hernan so I have no simpaity for her at all.